River Systems and Meteorology Group Partnerships

Scientists and engineers in the River Systems and Meteorology Group are actively engaged with external partners in other agencies, universities, state agencies, water conservation districts, Federal Water Masters, National Laboratories, and countries to enhance and extend our services to meet Reclamation's mission. The following section briefly summarizes the nature of our interactions and key points of contact and web links to our partners.

Water Operations Decision Support Tools

River Basin Management

The Watershed and River Systems Management Program (WaRSMP) is conducted jointly with Reclamation and the USGS. George Leavesley's Water Resources Team is our primary partner in the development and application of advanced watershed runoff models using the Modular Modeling System (MMS). This runoff model has been developed and applied in the San Juan, Gunnison, Yakima, Truckee, and Upper Rio Grande basins to provide extended streamflow forecasts based on existing snowpack conditions and ensemble streamflow predictions (ESP). Partnerships with the Tacoma USGS District Office, Carson City USGS District Office, and the Albuquerque USGS District Office have enabled local implementation of the MMS.

The RiverWare modeling framework and data centered decision support system was developed in partnership with the Center for Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES) in the Civil Engineering Department, University of Colorado. This system has been implemented operationally in the Colorado, Yakima, Upper Rio Grande Basins and is in the process of implementation in the Truckee Basin to assist in operational decision making, developing annual operations plans, and long range planning. RiverWare was developed in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority, who use it in their routine operations on the Tennessee River Basin. New partners using the system include the US Army Corps of Engineers, Murray Darling Basin Commission, Australia; etc.

Water Conservation

The Agricultural Water Resources Decision Support (AWARDS) System and the Evapotranspiration (ET) Toolbox were developed in partnership with Reclamation's water conservation program coordinators in the Great Plains, Upper and Lower Colorado, and Pacific Northwest Regions, and the Albuquerque Area Office and Upper Columbia Area Office. External partners who provided radar data include the National Weather Service's Red-Arkansas RFC, West Gulf RFC, and the Northwest RFC. Special partnerships with the West Gulf RFC exchange real-time data from Reclamation's mesonet stations in the Rio Grande Basin to improve WSR-88D calibrations in that area. Local water conservation districts are both end-users and partners of the AWARDS and ET Toolbox research studies and their operational applications. These include the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. Invaluable collaborative support for the ET Toolbox and the URGWOM has been received from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, International Boundary and Water Commission - U.S. Section, NWS West Gulf River Forecast Center, New Mexico Climate Center, New Mexico State University, University of New Mexico, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico State Engineer Office, University of Iowa, Utah State University, Los Alamos National Laboratories and others.

Water Management & Accounting Tools &

Data Management Tools

SAMS Computer Software Package

The SAMS (Stochastic Analysis, Modeling and Simulation) computer package has been developed over the past several years for use by Reclamation and other interested parties by Dr. Jose D. Salas of Colorado State University's Civil Engineering Department.

Hydrologic Modeling Inventory

A web site showing generally applicable water resource models which can be used for Reservoir and River Systems Operations, Precipitation - Runoff Analyses and Water Requirements. This effort is sponsored through Reclamation's Science and Technology Program.

The goal of this site is to provide water resource managers, public stake holders, and model developers a forum in which the latest modeling and decision support tools may be shared. Our objective is to enhance the "Jeffersonian Democracy" in which the public is empowered through better information access. Many government, university, and private sector teams have contributed to this modeling inventory.

Hydrometeorological Services

Our applied research to provide improved streamflow and water supply forecasting for Reclamation's water operations managers involves both the operational arm of the National Weather Service's River Forecast Centers (RFC), the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and NOAA's Office of Atmospheric Research in which the Forecast Systems Laboratory, National Severe Storms Laboratory, and Climate Diagnostics Center reside. We also are participating in NOAA's Office of Global Programs Global Energy and Water Cycles Experiment (GEWEX) - Continental-scale International Project (GCIP).

Improved Streamflow Forecasts on the Upper Missouri River

Work with the GCIP program is conducted in partnership with the Bob Cox, Missouri Basin RFC; Tim Felchle, Upper Missouri Water Operations Manager, Montana Area Office; and Curt Hartzell, Steve Hunter and Ed Holroyd TSC meteorologists. This research study is designed to improve streamflow forecasts of water supplies using technologies from GCIP, and advanced snow accumulation algorithms (SAA) that were funded by GCIP and the Joint NOAA, FAA, and DOD NEXRAD (WSR-88D) Operational Support Facility recently renamed the Radar Operations Center. Details are described under the Science and Technology (S&T) Program SAA study plan abstracts. The goal of this effort is to integrate the SAA estimates of snow water equivalent water volume into the Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) developed by the National Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center for analysis of snowpack water content. This SNODAS product then will be used operationally to provide spatial fields of precipitation for the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services (AHPS) streamflow forecasts on the Upper Missouri River Basin. This effort is described further under the Improved Streamflow Forecasting Study by Hartzell in the S&T program abstracts.

Enhanced Snowpack Analysis and Prediction in the Upper Rio Grande

Two collaborations are being initiated to develop better mesoscale analyses and forecasts of snowpack through scientific teams at the Forecast Systems Laboratory, Boulder, CO; and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM. These applied research efforts are designed to test and evaluate products from advanced numerical modeling systems that forecast the evolution of snowpack and the subsequent runoff of precipitation. Stanley Benjamin and Tatiana Smirnova at FSL are developing the CDAS - Coupled (Land surface / Atmosphere) Data Assimilation System to provide detailed snowpack boundary layer energy balance forecasts of the snowpack using the Rapid Update Cycle model.

Larry Winter, Keeley Kostigan, and Everett Springer at Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a prototype mesoscale forecasting model for the Upper Rio Grande Basin in partnership with the Sustainability of Semi-arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) Science and Technology Center at the University of Arizona. This center is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Our partnership is designed to improve the water supply forecasts for the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM) that was developed under Reclamation's Watershed and River Systems Management Program. This effort supports the work of Richard Stodt's Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting research study. This partnership also involves the West Gulf RFC and the Albuquerque Weather Forecast Office, NWS.

Truckee River Streamflow Forecast Enhancements

WaRSMP research in the Truckee Basin of California and Nevada is conducted in partnership with Reclamation's Lahonton Basin Area Office. It will apply improved precipitation runoff modeling and extended streamflow forecasts to support the Truckee River operations. A partnership with the Carson City, NV, US Geological Survey Office and the Desert Research Institute, is applying the Modular Modeling System in the Truckee Basin. In addition, the California - Nevada RFC is testing the AHPS prototype on the Truckee to improve streamflow forecasts. Our researchers will evaluate these two streamflow forecasts for the operations teams using the RiverWare river system modeling framework. One long term goal is to also integrate WSR-88D radar estimates of snow water equivalent into these models using the Snow Accumulation Algorithm developed by OSF and GCIP and evaluate the resulting streamflow forecasts. This effort will be coordinated with the Reno WFO, USGS, and the CNRFC for the Truckee Federal Water Master's office.

Lexicon of hydrometeorological and water management acronyms:

CDAS - Coupled (Land surface / Atmosphere) Data Assimilation System (FSL)

FSL - Forecast Systems Lab, Office of Atmospheric Research, NOAA

GEWEX - Global Energy and Water Cycles Experiment (NOAA, NASA, other countries...)

GAPP - GEWEX America Prediction Project (NOAA, NASA sponsored)

GCIP - GEWEX Continental-scale International Project (NOAA, NASA)

LDAS - Land Data Assimilation System

LOI - Letter of Intent for the GAPP proposal process

MAPS - Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction System (MM5)

NWS - National Weather Service

OHD - Office of Hydrologic Development, NWS, NOAA (formerly Office of Hydrology)

RAMS - Regional Atmospheric Modeling System

RFC - River Forecast Center

RUC - Rapid Update Cycle

PBL - Planetary Boundary Layer

STC - Science and Technology Center (NSF sponsored 5 year program)

URGWOM - Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (a RiverWare model)

WaRSMP - Watershed and River Systems Management Program

WY - Water Year Oct 1-Sept 30